Seat of Our Pants » Leh

Trouble in Ladakh

Martin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:17:14 +0000

It’s been almost a year since we visited Ladakh. Now, news out of Leh is that flash floods have killed hundreds of people in the region. Both locals and foreigners remain unaccounted for, and the whole area is cut off from the rest of the world.

Normally it never rains in Ladakh. As the above picture shows, the architecture and layout of the towns are simply not made to deal with precipitation. The massive rainfalls devastated the mud-brick houses, washing many of them away.

We can’t help but think and worry about the people we met there, the friends we made and the places we visited. It’s such a remote and beautiful corner of the world, and its vanishing lifestyle is so fragile and precious that a disaster like this is very likely to send the whole place reeling.

Get well soon, Ladakh. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

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Shoe Boxes and Spray Painted Sheep

Jaime — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:55:55 +0000

No matter how many new countries, individual cultures and amazing people we meet, I still can’t let go of the consumerist in me. I feel like a bad commercial when I say this, but sometimes I just need to shop.

Granted, the shopping is done in local bazaars and the products are often one of a kind relics. But still, it’s shopping nonetheless. Why is this a bad thing, you ask? Well, it won’t be, once we get home. But we’re far from home. So every once in a while (when our bags will no longer zip closed) we have to pack it all up and ship it home.

: Items to be shipped home

We’ve mailed two packages home so far. Our third was mailed here in Leh, where we were met with a rather interesting request by the postmaster. The following is (as close as memory serves) the description I received from the lady behind the post office counter:

“First you must go to a shoe store and ask for a box. Then you put all your items in the box. Take it to a tailor (huh?)and have him stitch it closed like this one (she held up a shoe box that had literally been tightly stitched into a fabric sheath). Bring it back here and we will mail it.”

: Stitched up packages ready to go!

So, off I went. The shoe boxes I was given for free. I found a tailor down a dusty road off the main drag. He agreed to do the job for the equivalent of $3. And for added fun, while Martin and I were waiting, we were run off the road by a huge heard of newly sheered sheep.

: Just your average yellow and pink sheep herd

Tailor made parcels and spray painted sheep. Just another day in the life of the Engstroms.

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There and Back Again

Martin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:03:53 +0000

We’re back in Leh after our jaunt up to Stok Kangri and its surroundings. We’re safe and sound, and checked in to our favorite guest house where we just had a hot shower (well, bucket of warm water).

The climb went well, although Jaime had a spell of the old altitude sickness and spent most of the time befriending donkeys and drinking tea in base camp. I made it to the peak. Read all about it tomorrow, because all we’re interested in right now is dinner, a teapot of beer and a long night’s sleep!

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Curvaceous sign

Jaime — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:12:38 +0000

Insert any Beyonce/JLo/Kim Kardashian/Most of the ladies from the Real Housewives of Atlanta joke here

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Discreet Beer Drinking in Leh

Jaime — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:06:20 +0000

Martin and I had dinner in a Leh restaurant that just happened to sit right next to the mosque. Though it wasn’t on the menu, as it rarely is in these parts, we ordered two beers to drink with our meal. The beer showed up in two tea pots and the glasses were covered in napkin.

Ok, we get it. We’re naughty.

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Gompa Hopping in Ladakh

Jaime — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:05:57 +0000

Yesterday’s plan was to get the heck out of Leh. We’ve been here for a week now and it was time to see something new. Our transportation of choice was a rented Enfield motorcycle – a step up from the scooters we’ve been renting. Martin drove, while I did my best to stay out of the sun (see photo below).

: Jaime builds a stone sculpture in Shey

On the day’s agenda were three gompas (Buddhist monasteries) that lay southeast of Leh. The first was found in the town of Shey. Rumor has it there is a 2 story copper statue of Sakyamuni (the historical buddha) there, but all the doors were locked so we missed the boat on that one. We did take some time to build rock sculptures, which judging from the 10,000 other sculptures around, looks like it has been going on for quite some time.

: Thiksey Gompa and sun avoidance

The Thiksey Gompa (behind me in the above photo) was our second stop. It is more of a small town plastered to a hillside than a single structure. Snuggled inside was a beautiful 45 foot Maitreya (the future Buddha), which I snapped a quick photo of.

: Big Future Buddha

The last gompa we visited was by far our favorite. Stakna Gompa (in the large photo at the top of this post), which dates from the 16^th century, sits on a hill overlooking the Indus river. We motored up to it and were greeted by an incredibly cute little girl, who became our unofficial tour guide. She spoke no English, but growled quite convincingly when pointing out the various demons painted in each room.

: Stakna Gompa Tour Guide

I’ve put together a photo gallery of some of the highlights of Stakna Gompa. Each room was filled with such color and detail that it took our breath away. Check it out below:

stakna-gompa-mural-detail

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Picture 1 of 5

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The Emperor’s New Clothes

Jaime — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:46:07 +0000

We’ve known Bacon for a while now, during which time he’s never worn clothes. He was, however, totally ignorant of that fact. From what I can gather he felt certain that he was wearing clothes. And not just any clothes. “Fancy clothes to match my fancy tastes,” as he continually boasted to us. He was much like the king in the children’s fable, The Emperor’s New Clothes. Though he insisted that he wore his finest, all we saw was the Pink.

It took our arrival in cold weather to break him. He approached us today with a lengthy explanation and request, which went something like this: His clothes must have been misplaced by (those darn!) luggage handlers on our flight up here. He really is quite cold, especially at night. Would we be a Dear and make him some clothes, just until the airline forwards his luggage.

It was all pretty sad, but he really did look quite cold. I fell for his charms once again, and agreed to make him a sweater. He pointed out a pair of unused gloves we had lying around. He whined about the color (purple isn’t really his thing) but in the end they became the material of choice.

: Bacon oversees the sewing

He insisted on overseeing the project, which was a bother. I can’t blame him, though. It was his first sweater after all. In the end, he was very pleased with the result. According to him, “it was a rather nice, though obviously amateurish version of one the airline lost.”

: The Emperor and His New Clothes

In totally unrelated news: Jaime has too much time on her hands.

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Trek Testing

Jaime — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:53:01 +0000

The ruins of the newly renovated Leh Palace and the Namgyl Tsemo Gompa (a Buddhist monastery) both sit on the mountain above Leh. You have two choices for getting to these places. You can either hire a taxi to drive you up the mountain, or you can tackle the dirt track that zigzags across the mountain face. We opted for the later. It was a good way to test our acclimatization – and I’m happy to report that the ol’ lungs are doing just fine.

Leh Palace with Gompa in Background

The Leh Palace was a short walk up from the old town. The building was a maze of dark corridors and small doorways (Martin whacked his head, despite an explicit warning – silly Martin). Many of the corridors led to terraces, which offered stunning views of the town below. It also bore a striking resemblance to the Potala Palace in Tibet. Actually, Ladakh is often referred to as little Tibet.

: Namgyl Tsemo Gompa

The ascent to the Gompa was the tricky bit, but rewarding once we arrived. The views of the town and surrounding mountain ranges were spectacular. The sun was shining, Tibetan prayer flags were flapping in the wind and, once we caught our breath, couldn’t help but laugh at the grandeur of it all.

: Leh from above

: View from the Gompa above Leh

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Well, Hello There

Jaime — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:18:11 +0000

Our guesthouse in Leh has hot water, but only if you ask for it. I learned this about five days too late. You see, I felt the water when we got here and my fingers didn’t recover for half an hour. The water in Leh comes from glacial melt, so it’s basically a few degrees above freezing. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get up the courage to clean in the ice cold shower.

So, five days passed without a cleaning. I know. I know. It’s gross. But with all the layers of clothing, it was hard to tell I was dirty. Well, that is, until I took my hair out of it’s ponytail and Mrs. Mullet showed up.

The mullet was too gross not to post. And, I’m happy to report that I’m freshly showered, thank you very much.

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Ladaki Shoes

Jaime — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:08:25 +0000

It’s been a while since the children’s clothing urge has struck, but yesterday, while walking through a store that sold traditional Ladakhi clothing, it struck hard. Sitting on the shelf, surrounded by adult size shoes, sat these little beauties. It’s hard to tell in the photo but they should fit a child about 2-3 years old.

I grabbed them and gave Martin my most compelling “I need these” eyes, to which he relented. Thoughts of future children ran through my mind. I’m pretty sure Martin was scheming about bookshelf decoration.

Ah well…soon enough ol’ man. Soon enough.

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